JD Vance Floats Donald Trump Deal To End War in Ukraine

Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, has suggested how their administration might seek to end Russia's war in Ukraine, should they win the White House.

Vance said potential peace talks with Trump could involve a "heavily fortified" demilitarized zone at the countries' borders.

"I think what this looks like is Trump sits down, he says to the Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans: 'You guys need to figure out. What does a peaceful settlement look like?' And what it probably looks like is the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine, that becomes like a demilitarized zone," he told the Shawn Ryan Show podcast in an episode released Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin's Russia has taken military control of about 20 percent of Ukraine since 2014 when it annexed Crimea.

Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign, as well as the governments of Russia and Ukraine, for comment by email.

A campaign spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris told Newsweek that the "Trump-Vance-Putin plan for Ukraine is a surrender plan."

"Trump won't say he wants Ukraine to win because he's rooting for Vladimir Putin. Vice President Harris understands that if America walks away from Ukraine, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe and our NATO allies, starting with Poland," the spokesperson said.

"Dictators everywhere would be emboldened and the world would be a more dangerous place."

The Context

The prospect of peace talks has been raised several times, without success, since the Russian leader launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has claimed on multiple occasions that he would have ended the war in Ukraine "in 24 hours" if he won the 2020 presidential election. He has also said repeatedly that if reelected, he would swiftly bring an end to the war in Ukraine by speaking with Putin.

What We Know

Vance didn't specify exactly where he thinks the demilitarized zone should be, but said it would be "heavily fortified so the Russians don't invade again."

"Ukraine retains its independent sovereignty, Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine—it doesn't join NATO, it doesn't join some of these allied institutions. That is what the deal is ultimately going to look something like," he said.

Vance said he believes Trump will be able to "come to a deal very quickly" because "they're scared of him in Russia, they're worried about him in Europe because they know he actually means what he says."

"The Russians, the Ukrainians, the Europeans are all saying, we can't fight this war forever. But why the hell are you fighting it for another day if all of them are trying to find a way to solve it? The answer is, you're not going to solve the war but you can at least bring the thing to a stop," he continued.

"The answer is, Joe Biden is asleep at the wheel, Kamala Harris doesn't know what the hell she's doing, and so, their policy is throw money at this problem, hope the Ukrainians are able to achieve a military victory that even the Ukrainians are saying 'we can't achieve,'" Vance added.

Reuters reported in May, citing four anonymous Russian sources familiar with the matter, that Putin was ready to "freeze" the war in Ukraine on current front lines.

"Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire—to freeze the war," a senior Russian source who has worked with Putin told the publication. Newsweek couldn't independently corroborate the report.

The Kremlin has previously specified a few conditions that are nonnegotiable for Russia, including that Ukraine must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—following referendums called by Putin that were deemed illegal by the international community.

Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory, and that Crimea must once again be considered part of Ukraine.

Zelensky, Trump, Vance and Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left; Russian President Vladimir Putin, right; Donald Trump with JD Vance, inset. Vance has suggested how a Trump administration might seek to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Leon Neal/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

What's Next?

The U.S. presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5. Russia and Ukraine are watching the U.S. elections closely.

Follow Newsweek's live blog for election updates.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.

Update 09/13/24, 11:09 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from a spokesperson for Kamala Harris' campaign.

About the writer

Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express, The Times, Harper's BAZAAR, and Grazia. She has an M.A. in Newspaper Journalism at City, University of London, and a B.A. in Russian language at Queen Mary, University of London. Languages: English, Russian


You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen


Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more